Onboard control device, wayside coil, ground control device, wireless train control system, and train location correction method

ABSTRACT

An onboard control device includes an obtaining unit to obtain information from a wayside coil, for identifying a location of the wayside coil, and a control unit to correct train location information, or not, on a basis of correction permission information, the permission information being associated with the wayside coil and including information that indicates whether correction to the train location information is permissible. When the permission information indicates that the correction is permissible, the control unit corrects the train location information by using the wayside coil information at the time when the onboard pickup coil has passed through the wayside coil, and when the permission information indicates that the correction is not permissible, the control unit does not correct the train location information at the time when the onboard pickup coil has passed through the wayside coil.

FIELD

The present invention relates to an onboard control device including anonboard pickup coil, a wayside coil, a ground control device, a wirelesstrain control system, and a train location correction method.

BACKGROUND

A known train traveling on a track detects its train location andtransmits information on the train location to a wayside device. Thewayside device controls the operation of the train on the basis of thetrain location obtained from the train. One of the detection methods,which a train carries out for detecting its current train location, isto connect a rate generator to an axle of the train, calculate atraveling distance from a predetermined reference location on the basisof an output pulse signal generated by rotation of the axle, and detectthe current train location by using the calculated traveling distance.Unfortunately, the detection method as described above may include anerror between the actual traveling distance and the calculated travelingdistance due to wheel slipping or skidding during travelling of thetrain.

According to technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1, an additionallength extending from a front part of the train in the travelingdirection and an additional length extending from a rear part of thetrain in a direction opposite to the traveling direction are provided onthe basis of a measurement error. A location of the train location isthen detected regarding a location of the train having these additionallengths as the train location. The train described in Patent Literature1 transmits, to a wayside device, information on the location of thetrain with the additional lengths provided on the basis of themeasurement error.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2007-331629

SUMMARY Technical Problem

In general, when an onboard pickup coil installed in a train receiveswayside-coil location information transmitted from a wayside coilinstalled on the wayside, the train corrects a train location on thebasis of the the wayside-coil location information. When the traindescribed in Patent Literature 1 receives location informationtransmitted from the wayside coil, the train brings the additionallength provided on the basis of the measurement error to 0. That is, atthe point in time when the train corrects its train location, aphenomenon in which the location having been regarded as a front-partlocation of the train is displaced rearward by the added measurementerror occurs. As a result of the correction to the train location, astop-limit position of the train shifts from a position past a signalback to a position before the signal in which case, the wayside devicechanges indication of the signal from “go” to “stop”. This is a problembecause a sudden change in the indication of the signal from “go” to“stop” causes the train to be urgently stopped.

The present invention has been achieved to solve the above problem, andan object of the present invention is to provide an onboard controldevice capable of controlling correction to a train location.

Solution to Problem

To solve the above problem and achieve the object, the present inventionprovides an onboard control device to be installed along with an onboardpickup coil in a train. The onboard control device comprising: anobtaining unit to obtain wayside coil information from a wayside coilthrough the onboard pickup coil, the wayside coil information beingcapable of identifying a location of the wayside coil; and a controlunit to correct train location information, or not to correct the trainlocation information on a basis of correction permission information,the train location information indicating a location of the train, thecorrection permission information being associated with the waysidecoil, the correction permission information including information thatindicates whether correction to the train location information ispermissible, wherein when the information included in the correctionpermission information indicates that the correction is permissible, thecontrol unit corrects the train location information by using thewayside coil information at a time when the onboard pickup coil haspassed through the wayside coil, and when the information included inthe correction permission information indicates that the correction isnot permissible, the control unit does not correct the train locationinformation at a time when the onboard pickup coil has passed throughthe wayside coil.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The onboard control device according to the present invention has aneffect that it is possible to control the correction to the trainlocation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wirelesstrain control system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of awayside coil according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of atrain according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of correction permissioninformation to be transmitted by a wayside coil 20 a according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of correction permissioninformation to be transmitted by a wayside coil 20 b according to thefirst embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an onboard controldevice according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the wayside coilaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a processingcircuitry included in the onboard control device according to the firstembodiment is configured by a processor and a memory.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where theprocessing circuitry included in the onboard control device according tothe first embodiment is configured by dedicated hardware.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of atrain according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of correspondenceinformation stored in a storage unit in an onboard control deviceaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the onboard controldevice according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a wayside coilaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of aground control device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for describing operations of a trainand the ground control device according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an onboard controldevice according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the ground controldevice according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an operation by which a control unitin the ground control device according to the third embodiment searchesfor a wayside coil.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An onboard control device, a wayside coil, a ground control device, awireless train control system, and a train location correction methodaccording to embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The presentinvention is not limited to the embodiments.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a wirelesstrain control system 100 according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention. The wireless train control system 100 includes trains 10 aand 10 b, wayside coils 20 a and 20 b, and a ground system 30. Whereappropriate, the trains 10 a and 10 b are hereinafter referred to astrains 10 without being distinguished from each other. The train 10 maybe made up of a plurality of vehicles, or a single vehicle. Whereappropriate, the wayside coils 20 a and 20 b are hereinafter referred toas “wayside coils 20” without being distinguished from each other.

The train 10 has an onboard pickup coil installed therein as describedlater. The train 10 is capable of correcting a calculated location ofthe train 10, by using information intended for location correction. Theinformation intended for location correction is obtained from thewayside coil 20 through the onboard pickup coil. The train 10 transmitstrain location information to the ground system 30. The train locationinformation indicates the location of the train 10. In the wirelesstrain control system 100, the ground system 30 obtains train locationinformation from the train 10, determines a path and a stop-limitposition of the train 10 on the basis of the train location informationon the train 10, and controls the operation of the train 10. While inFIG. 1, the number of trains 10 is two, this is merely an example. Theground system 30 is capable of controlling the operation of one train 10or more than two trains 10.

The configuration of the ground system 30 is described below. The groundsystem 30 includes a wireless device 40, a ground control device 50, andan electronic interlocking device 60.

The wireless device 40 wirelessly communicates with the train 10.Specifically, the wireless device 40 receives train location informationfrom the train 10, and transmits, to the train 10, control informationgenerated by the ground control device 50.

The ground control device 50 controls the operation of the train 10 thatcommunicates with the wayside coil 20 through an onboard pickup coil. Onthe basis of train location information obtained from the train 10, theground control device 50 determines a path and a stop-limit position ofthe train 10, and generates control information for the train 10.

On the basis of train location information on the train 10 obtained fromthe ground control device 50, the electronic interlocking device 60determines on which of track circuits 81 to 85 the train 10 is present.The electronic interlocking device 60 then controls signals 71 and 72.

In the wireless train control system 100, at the time when the train 10having an onboard pickup coil installed therein passes through thewayside coil 20, the wayside coil 20 communicates with the onboardpickup coil. A configuration of the wayside coil 20 is described below.FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of thewayside coil 20 according to the first embodiment. The wayside coil 20includes a storage unit 21 and a communication unit 22. The waysidecoils 20 a and 20 b are identical in configuration to each other,although the wayside coils 20 a and 20 b have different pieces ofinformation stored in their storage units 21.

The storage unit 21 stores therein wayside-coil location information andcorrection permission information. The wayside-coil location informationindicates the location where the wayside coil 20 is installed. Thecorrection permission information includes information indicatingwhether it is permissible for the train 10 to correct train locationinformation. The train location information indicates the location ofthe train 10 in the train 10. The wayside-coil location information iswayside coil information capable of identifying the location where thewayside coil 20 is installed. The correction permission information,which is associated with the wayside coil 20, includes information thatindicates whether correction to train location information indicatingthe location of the train 10 is permissible.

The communication unit 22 transmits, to the train 10, the wayside-coillocation information that is the wayside coil information, and thecorrection permission information, both of which are stored in thestorage unit 21.

A configuration of the train 10 is described below. FIG. 3 is a blockdiagram illustrating a configuration example of the train 10 accordingto the first embodiment. The train 10 includes an onboard pickup coil11, a tachometer generator 12, a communication unit 13, and an onboardcontrol device 14. The train 10 has these devices installed therein. Theonboard control device 14 includes an obtaining unit 15 and a controlunit 16. The trains 10 a and 10 b are identical in configuration to eachother.

The onboard pickup coil 11 communicates with the wayside coil 20. Theonboard pickup coil 11 obtains, from the wayside coil 20, wayside coilinformation capable of identifying the location where the wayside coil20 is installed, and correction permission information. In the firstembodiment, the wayside coil information is wayside-coil locationinformation that indicates the location where the wayside coil 20 isinstalled.

The tachometer generator 12 is connected to an axle of the train 10, andoutputs a pulse signal in response to rotation of the axle.

The communication unit 13 wirelessly communicates with the ground system30. The communication unit 13 transmits, to the ground system 30, trainlocation information on the train 10 calculated by the onboard controldevice 14. The communication unit 13 receives, from the ground system30, control information for the train 10 to move or stop.

The onboard control device 14 controls the operation of the train 10.The onboard control device 14 calculates the location of the train 10,by using a signal output from the tachometer generator 12. The onboardcontrol device 14 can correct the calculated location of the train 10,by using wayside coil information obtained from the wayside coil 20through the onboard pickup coil 11.

The obtaining unit 15 obtains wayside coil information and correctionpermission information from the wayside coil 20 through the onboardpickup coil 11.

The control unit 16 calculates the location of the train 10, by using asignal output from the tachometer generator 12. The control unit 16 cancorrect the calculated location of the train 10 in accordance with thecorrection permission information, by using the wayside coil informationobtained from the wayside coil 20 through the obtaining unit 15 and theonboard pickup coil 11. Specifically, when information included in thecorrection permission information indicates that correction ispermissible, the control unit 16 corrects the train location informationby using the wayside coil information at the time when the onboardpickup coil 11 has passed through the wayside coil 20. When informationincluded in the correction permission information indicates thatcorrection is not permissible, the control unit 16 does not correct thetrain location information at the time when the onboard pickup coil 11has passed through the wayside coil 20.

Operations of the trains 10 a and 10 b are described next.

In the train 10 a, the control unit 16 in the onboard control device 14calculates a train location of the train 10 a on the basis of a signaloutput from the tachometer generator 12. Unfortunately, there is apossibility that wheel slipping or skidding may cause an error in thetrain location of the train 10 a. To address this, the control unit 16in the train 10 a provides allowances for the length of the train 10 a.That is, the control unit 16 regards a length of the train 10 a as beinglarger than the real length. Specifically, the control unit 16 in thetrain 10 a adds a front-part allowance length 91 a to the front part ofthe train 10 a, and adds a rear-part allowance length 92 a to the rearpart of the train 10 a. As a result, the train 10 a travels, having thefront part of the train 10 a deemed to be located the front-partallowance length 91 a ahead of the real location of the front part ofthe train 10 a. The train 10 a travels, having the rear part of thetrain 10 a deemed to be located the rear-part allowance length 92 abehind the real location of the rear part of the train 10 a. The train10 a transmits, to the ground system 30, the location information on thetrain with the front-part allowance length 91 a and the rear-partallowance length 92 a added. The ground control device 50 in the groundsystem 30 performs a process of determining, for example, a path and astop-limit position on the basis of the transmitted train locationinformation. The control unit 16 in the train 10 a is capable ofchanging the front-part allowance length 91 a and the rear-partallowance length 92 a depending on the traveling distance since the lastcorrection to the train location. For example, the control unit 16 inthe train 10 a increases the front-part allowance length 91 a and therear-part allowance length 92 a in proportion to the traveling distancesince the last correction to the train location.

In FIG. 1, the wayside coil 20 a is more distant from the next stationthan the wayside coil 20 b is, and is not close to the signals 71 and72. It is thus believed that there are no problems with the train 10 aeven when the location of the train 10 a is suddenly changed correctingthe train location at the time when the train 10 a has passed throughthe wayside coil 20 a. For this reason, the wayside coil 20 a transmits,to the train 10 a, wayside-coil location information indicating thelocation where the wayside coil 20 a is installed, and correctionpermission information associated with the wayside coil 20 a, as well.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correction permissioninformation to be transmitted by the wayside coil 20 a according to thefirst embodiment. FIG. 4 illustrates a target for correction to thetrain location of the train 10 a. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows that thetrain 10 a having passed through the wayside coil 20 a corrects thefront-part location of the train 10 a, and corrects the rear-partlocation of the train 10 a. Information included in the correctionpermission information illustrated in FIG. 4, that is, information thatindicates whether correction to the front-part location of the train 10a is permissible is defined as first information, and information thatindicates whether correction to the rear-part location of the train 10 ais permissible is defined as second information. Specifically, in FIG.4, the first information indicates that the correction target is thefront-part location and correction to the front-part location ispermissible, and the second information indicates that the correctiontarget is the rear-part location and correction to the rear-partlocation is permissible. Whether correction to the front-part locationis permissible is determined on a case-by-case basis. The correction isdetermined to be “not permissible”, for example, in a case where thereis an installation such as a signal near the train in the travelingdirection of the train 10 and thus a change in the location of the train10 probably causes a change in the state of the installation. Otherwise,the correction is determined to be “permissible”. Whether correction tothe rear-part location is permissible is determined on a case-by-casebasis. The correction is determined to be “not permissible”, forexample, in a case where whether the train 10 has a length that allowsthe train 10 to fit within a facility such as when stopping at a stationis being checked. Otherwise, the correction is determined to be“permissible”.

The correction permission information to be transmitted from the waysidecoil 20 to the train 10 can be expressed in two bits of informationlocated at a certain position within a signal transmitted from thewayside coil 20 to the train 10. For example, when a first one of thetwo bits is 1, correction to the front-part location is permissible.When the first bit is 0, correction to the front-part location is notpermissible. When a second one of the two bits is 1, correction to therear-part location is permissible. When the second bit is 0, correctionto the rear-part location is not permissible.

At the time when the train 10 a has passed through the wayside coil 20a, the control unit 16 in the train 10 a obtains wayside-coil locationinformation and correction permission information transmitted from thewayside coil 20 a through the onboard pickup coil 11. The control unit16 in the train 10 a corrects the front-part location and the rear-partlocation of the train 10 a on the basis of the obtained wayside-coillocation information and the obtained correction permission information.Specifically, the control unit 16 in the train 10 a resets, that is,eliminates the front-part allowance length 91 a added to the front partof the train 10 a, and also resets, that is, eliminates the rear-partallowance length 92 a added to the rear part of the train 10 a. In themanner as described above, the control unit 16 in the train 10 a canaccurately acquire the location of the train 10 a by correcting thelocation of the train 10 a at the time when the train 10 a has passedthrough the wayside coil 20 a.

Next, the train 10 b is described. The control unit 16 in the train 10 badds a front-part allowance length 91 b to the front part of the train10 b, and adds a rear-part allowance length 92 b to the rear part of thetrain 10 b. As a result, the train 10 b travels, having the front partof the train 10 b deemed to be located the front-part allowance length91 b ahead of the actual location of the front part of the train 10 b.The train 10 b travels, having the rear part of the train 10 b deemed tobe located the rear-part allowance length 92 b behind the actuallocation of the rear part of the train 10 b. The train 10 b transmits,to the ground system 30, the location information on the train with thefront-part allowance length 91 b and the rear-part allowance length 92 badded. The ground control device 50 in the ground system 30 performs aprocess of, for example, determining a path and a stop-limit position onthe basis of the transmitted train location information. The controlunit 16 in the train 10 b is capable of changing the front-partallowance length 91 b and the rear-part allowance length 92 b dependingon the traveling distance since the last correction to the trainlocation. For example, the control unit 16 in the train 10 b increasesthe front-part allowance length 91 b and the rear-part allowance length92 b in proportion to the traveling distance since the last correctionto the train location.

In FIG. 1, the wayside coil 20 b is less distant from the next stationthan the wayside coil 20 a is, and is close to the signals 71 and 72.When the location of the train 10 b is suddenly changed correcting thetrain location at the time when the train 10 b has passed through thewayside coil 20 b, the train 10 b may encounter a problem due to such asudden change. For example, when the correction to the front-partlocation of the train 10 b changes the stop-limit position (notillustrated) of the train 10 b from a position between the station andthe signals 71 and 72 to a position before the signals 71 and 72, theelectronic interlocking device 60 suddenly switches indication of one ofthe signals 71 and 72, which corresponds to the path of the train 10 b,from “go” to “stop”. As a consequence, the train 10 b needs to suddenlystop due to a sudden change in the signal indication. For this reason,the wayside coil 20 b transmits, to the train 10 b, wayside-coillocation information indicating the location where the wayside coil 20 bis installed, and transmits correction permission information associatedwith the wayside coil 20 b, as well.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correction permissioninformation to be transmitted by the wayside coil 20 b according to thefirst embodiment. FIG. 5 illustrates a target for correction to thetrain location of the train 10 b. Specifically, FIG. 5 shows that thetrain 10 b having passed through the wayside coil 20 b does not correctthe front-part location of the train 10 b, but corrects the rear-partlocation of the train 10 b. In the correction permission informationillustrated in FIG. 5, information that indicates whether correction tothe front-part location is permissible is defined as first information,and information that indicates whether correction to the rear-partlocation is permissible is defined as second information. Specifically,in FIG. 5, the first information indicates that the correction target isthe front-part location and correction to the front-part location is notpermissible, and the second information indicates that the correctiontarget is the rear-part location and correction to the rear-partlocation is permissible.

At the time when the train 10 b has passed through the wayside coil 20b, the control unit 16 in the train 10 b obtains wayside-coil locationinformation and correction permission information transmitted from thewayside coil 20 b through the onboard pickup coil 11. The control unit16 in the train 10 b corrects the rear-part location of the train 10 b,but does not correct the front-part location of the train 10 b on thebasis of the obtained wayside-coil location information and the obtainedcorrection permission information. Specifically, the control unit 16 inthe train 10 b does not reset the front-part allowance length 91 b addedto the front part of the train 10 b, but resets, that is, eliminates therear-part allowance length 92 b added to the rear part of the train 10b. In this manner, the control unit 16 in the train 10 b can avoid anincident such as a sudden stop of the train 10 b by partially correctingthe location of the train 10 b at the time when the train 10 b haspassed through the wayside coil 20 b.

An operation of the onboard control device 14 installed in the train 10is described below with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 6 is a flowchartillustrating the operation of the onboard control device 14 according tothe first embodiment. In the onboard control device 14, the control unit16 calculates a train location of the train 10 on the basis of an outputsignal from the tachometer generator 12 (Step S1). The control unit 16determines whether the obtaining unit 15 has obtained wayside coilinformation that is wayside-coil location information indicating thelocation where the wayside coil 20 is installed, and correctionpermission information, from the wayside coil 20 through the onboardpickup coil 11 (Step S2).

When the obtaining unit 15 has obtained the wayside-coil locationinformation and the correction permission information from the waysidecoil 20 through the onboard pickup coil 11 (YES at Step S2), the controlunit 16 checks whether the first information included in the correctionpermission information indicates that correction is permissible (StepS3). When the first information indicates that correction is permissible(YES at Step S3), the control unit 16 corrects the front-part locationof the train 10 by using the wayside-coil location information (StepS4). When the first information indicates that correction is notpermissible (NO at Step S3), the control unit 16 does not correct thefront-part location of the train 10, that is, omits the process at StepS4.

After Step S4 or when the determination at Step S3 is NO, the controlunit 16 checks whether the second information included in the correctionpermission information indicates that correction is permissible (StepS5). When the second information indicates that correction ispermissible (YES at Step S5), the control unit 16 corrects the rear-partlocation of the train 10 by using the wayside-coil location information(Step S6). When the second information indicates that correction is notpermissible (NO at Step S5), the control unit 16 does not correct therear-part location of the train 10, that is, omits the process at StepS6.

When the determination at Step S2 is NO, or when the determination atStep S5 is NO, or after Step S6, the control unit 16 transmits trainlocation information on the train 10 including the front-part locationof the train 10 and the rear-part location of the train 10 to the groundsystem 30 through the communication unit 13 (Step S7). The control unit16 returns to Step S1 to repeat the operations described above.

An operation of the wayside coil 20 is described below with reference toa flowchart. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of thewayside coil 20 according to the first embodiment. The communicationunit 22 checks whether the onboard pickup coil 11 in the train 10 haspassed through the wayside coil 20, that is, whether the wayside coil 20has detected the onboard pickup coil 11 in the train 10 (Step S11). Whenthe wayside coil 20 does not detect the onboard pickup coil 11 (NO atStep S11), the communication unit 22 is on standby until the waysidecoil 20 detects the onboard pickup coil 11. When the wayside coil 20 hasdetected the onboard pickup coil 11 (YES at Step S11), the communicationunit 22 reads wayside-coil location information and correctionpermission information from the storage unit 21 and transmits the readinformation to the onboard pickup coil 11 (Step S12). The communicationunit 22 returns to Step S11 to repeat the operations described above.

The correction permission information stored in the storage unit 21 inthe wayside coil 20 is set in advance by personnel of a railwayoperating company in charge, taking nearby installations into account.Although the correction permission information to be transmitted fromthe wayside coil 20 has been described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5as an example, the correction permission information is not limitedthereto. The correction permission information to be stored in thestorage unit 21 in the wayside coil 20 may include, for example, thefirst information indicating that correction to the front-part locationis permissible, and the second information indicating that correction tothe rear-part location is not permissible. Alternatively, the correctionpermission information may include the first information indicating thatcorrection to the front-part location is not permissible, and the secondinformation indicating that correction to the rear-part location is notpermissible. Alternatively, correction permission information to bestored in the storage unit 21 in the wayside coil 20 may include onlythe first information, targeting only the front-part location forcorrection, or include only the second information, targeting only therear-part location for correction. When the correction permissioninformation includes only the first information, the control unit 16 inthe train 10 omits the operations at Steps S5 and S6 in the flowchart inFIG. 6. When the correction permission information includes only thesecond information, the control unit 16 in the train 10 omits theoperations at Steps S3 and S4 in the flowchart in FIG. 6.

Next, a hardware configuration of the onboard control device 14 isdescribed. In the onboard control device 14, the obtaining unit 15 is aninput interface to obtain information received by the onboard pickupcoil 11. The control unit 16 is implemented by a processing circuitry.It is allowable that the processing circuitry is either dedicatedhardware, or a processor and a memory that execute programs stored inthe memory.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where theprocessing circuitry included in the onboard control device 14 accordingto the first embodiment is configured by a processor and a memory. In acase where the processing circuitry is configured by a processor 201 anda memory 202, the functions of the processing circuitry of the onboardcontrol device 14 are implemented in software, firmware, or acombination of the software and the firmware. The software or thefirmware is described as a program and stored in the memory 202. In theprocessing circuitry, the processor 201 reads and executes the programstored in the memory 202 to thereby implement each of the functions.That is, the processing circuitry includes the memory 202 that storestherein programs that eventually execute the processing of the onboardcontrol device 14. These programs are also regarded as causing acomputer to execute the procedure and the method of the onboard controldevice 14.

The processor 201 may be a device such as a CPU (Central ProcessingUnit), a processing device, an arithmetic device, a microprocessor, amicrocomputer, or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). For example, anonvolatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM (RandomAccess Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM(Erasable Programmable ROM), and an EEPROM® (Electrically EPROM), or amagnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, aMiniDisk, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) corresponds to the memory202.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where theprocessing circuitry included in the onboard control device 14 accordingto the first embodiment is configured by dedicated hardware. When theprocessing circuitry is configured by dedicated hardware, then forexample, a single circuit, a combined circuit, a programmed processor, aparallel-programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific IntegratedCircuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combinationthereof corresponds to a processing circuitry 203 illustrated in FIG. 9.The functions of the onboard control device 14 may be respectivelyimplemented by each individual processing circuitry 203 or may becollectively implemented by a single processing circuitry 203.

As for the respective functions of the onboard control device 14, it ispossible to configure that some parts of the functions are implementedby dedicated hardware and other parts thereof are implemented bysoftware or firmware. In this manner, the processing circuitry canimplement each function described above by dedicated hardware, software,firmware, or a combination of these elements.

A hardware configuration of the wayside coil 20 is now described. In thewayside coil 20, the communication unit 22 is a transmission device totransmit information stored in the storage unit 21 when the wayside coil20 detects radio waves and the like irradiated from the onboard pickupcoil 11 in the train 10. The storage unit 21 is implemented by a memory.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the train10, the control unit 16 in the onboard control device 14 obtainswayside-coil location information and correction permission informationfrom the wayside coil 20, and corrects or does not correct trainlocation information in accordance with the details of the correctionpermission information. This enables the train 10 to control correctionto the train location information in accordance with whether there arefacilities in the vicinity of the wayside coil 20, that is, there is asignal in the above example, such that it is possible to avoid anincident such as a sudden stop as a result of a sudden change in thetrain location information.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, it is also possible to additionallyinstall a wayside coil 20 inside a station, so that the train 10 havingpassed through the signals 71 and 72 can correct the train locationinformation, specifically, correct the front-part location of the train10 by using the wayside coil 20 installed inside the station.

Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment, the train 10 obtains correction permissioninformation from the wayside coil 20. In this case, all of the trains 10passing through the wayside coil 20 obtain, from the wayside coil 20,pieces of correction permission information that contain the samedetails, and accordingly correct the train locations in the same manner.In a second embodiment, a description is made as to a case in which thetrain 10 holds correction permission information therein.

In the second embodiment, the configuration of the wireless traincontrol system 100 is identical to that of the wireless train controlsystem 100 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. Theconfiguration of the wayside coil 20 is also identical to that of thewayside coil 20 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2.However, in the second embodiment, the storage unit 21 has wayside coilinformation that is wayside-coil identification information storedtherein. The wayside-coil identification information is capable ofidentifying the wayside coil 20. The wayside-coil identificationinformation is, for example, an ID (IDentification) that can uniquelyrepresent each wayside coil 20 in the wireless train control system 100.The communication unit 22 transmits, to the train 10, wayside-coilidentification information stored in the storage unit 21. The storageunit 21 may have wayside-coil location information stored thereinsimilarly to the first embodiment. In a case where the storage unit 21has wayside-coil location information stored therein, the communicationunit 22 transmits the wayside-coil location information along with thewayside-coil identification information.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of thetrain 10 according to the second embodiment. The train 10 includes theonboard pickup coil 11, the tachometer generator 12, the communicationunit 13, and the onboard control device 14. The onboard control device14 includes the obtaining unit 15, the control unit 16, and a storageunit 17. The trains 10 a and 10 b are identical in configuration. Thestorage unit 17 stores therein correspondence information in whichwayside-coil identification information capable of identifying thewayside coil 20 is associated with correction permission information.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correspondenceinformation stored in the storage unit 17 in the onboard control device14 according to the second embodiment. In the correspondence informationillustrated in FIG. 11, the wayside-coil identification information isan ID that can uniquely represent each wayside coil 20 in the wirelesstrain control system 100 as described above. In the correspondenceinformation illustrated in FIG. 11, correction permission information isset for each wayside-coil identification information, and indicateswhether correction to the train location is permissible. In FIG. 11,information in the field “front-part location” in the correctionpermission information corresponds to the first information, andinformation in the field “rear-part location” in the correctionpermission information corresponds to the second information. In FIG.11, the wayside-coil location information indicates the location wherethe wayside coil 20 is installed, the wayside coil 20 being indicated bythe wayside-coil identification information. In a case where thewayside-coil location information is transmitted from the wayside coil20, the wayside-coil location information may be deleted from thecorrespondence information illustrated in FIG. 11. The onboard controldevice 14 may obtain the wayside-coil location information along withthe wayside-coil identification information from the wayside coil 20, orinclude the wayside-coil location information in the correspondenceinformation stored in the storage unit 17.

In the second embodiment, when the onboard pickup coil 11 in the train10 has passed through the wayside coil 20, the wayside coil 20transmits, to the train 10, wayside coil information that iswayside-coil identification information. The wayside coil 20 maytransmit the wayside-coil location information along with thewayside-coil identification information similarly to the firstembodiment.

In the train 10, when the control unit 16 in the onboard control device14 obtains wayside-coil identification information from the wayside coil20 through the onboard pickup coil 11 and the obtaining unit 15, thecontrol unit 16 searches the correspondence information stored in thestorage unit 17 on the basis of the wayside-coil identificationinformation. For example, when the wayside-coil identificationinformation obtained from the wayside coil 20 is “A1”, the control unit16 searches the correspondence information with the wayside-coilidentification information “A1”, and obtains correction permissioninformation associated with the wayside-coil identification information“A1”. In the example in FIG. 11, the control unit 16 obtains correctionpermission information indicating that correction to the front-partlocation is not permissible, and correction to the rear-part location ispermissible. When the control unit 16 does not obtain wayside-coilidentification information from the wayside coil 20 through the onboardpickup coil 11 and the obtaining unit 15, the control unit 16 obtainswayside-coil location information “B1” associated with the wayside-coilidentification information “A1” in the example in FIG. 11. The controlunit 16 executes control to correct the location of the train 10 on thebasis of the correction permission information obtained by searching thecorrespondence information and associated with the wayside-coilidentification information “A1”.

The operation of the onboard control device 14 installed in the train 10is described below with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 12 is a flowchartillustrating the operation of the onboard control device 14 according tothe second embodiment. In the onboard control device 14, the controlunit 16 calculates a train location of the train 10 on the basis of anoutput signal from the tachometer generator 12 (Step S1). The controlunit 16 determines whether the obtaining unit 15 has obtainedwayside-coil identification information from the wayside coil 20 throughthe onboard pickup coil 11 (Step S21).

When the obtaining unit 15 has obtained wayside-coil identificationinformation from the wayside coil 20 through the onboard pickup coil 11(YES at Step S21), the control unit 16 searches correspondenceinformation stored in the storage unit 17 by using the obtainedwayside-coil identification information (Step S22), and obtainscorrection permission information associated with the obtainedwayside-coil identification information (Step S23). The operations atSteps S3 to S7 subsequent to Step S23 are the same as the operations inthe first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6. However, when thedetermination at Step S21 is NO, or when the determination at Step S3 isNO, or when the determination at Step S5 is NO, or after Step S6, thecontrol unit 16 transmits train location information on the train 10 tothe ground system 30 through the communication unit 13 (Step S7).

The operation of the wayside coil 20 is described below with referenceto a flowchart. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of thewayside coil 20 according to the second embodiment. The communicationunit 22 checks whether the onboard pickup coil 11 in the train 10 haspassed through the wayside coil 20, that is, whether the wayside coil 20has detected the onboard pickup coil 11 in the train 10 (Step S31). Whenthe wayside coil 20 does not detect the onboard pickup coil 11 (NO atStep S31), the communication unit 22 is on standby until the waysidecoil 20 detects the onboard pickup coil 11. When the wayside coil 20 hasdetected the onboard pickup coil 11 (YES at Step S31), the communicationunit 22 reads wayside-coil identification information from the storageunit 21 and transmits the read wayside-coil identification informationto the onboard pickup coil 11 (Step S32). The communication unit 22returns to Step S31 to repeat the operations described above.

The correspondence information stored in the storage unit 17 in theonboard control device 14 is set in advance by personnel of a railwayoperating company in charge, taking account of the type of the train 10,nearby installations, and other factors. In the correspondenceinformation illustrated in FIG. 11, wayside-coil identificationinformation and wayside-coil location information are common to all thetrains 10. However, different pieces of correction permissioninformation may be set for different types of the train 10. For thewayside coil 20 installed before some station (defined as “station A”),for example, details of correction permission information set for atrain 10 that is supposed to stop at the station A are different fromthose for another train 10 that is not supposed to stop at the stationA. In this case, personnel of a railway operating company in charge canset different pieces of correction permission information for differenttypes of the train 10. Similarly to the correction permissioninformation stored in the storage unit 21 in the wayside coil 20according to the first embodiment, correction permission informationstored in the storage unit 17 in the onboard control device 14 mayinclude only the first information, targeting only the front-partlocation for correction, or may include only the second information,targeting only the rear-part location for correction.

In the hardware configuration of the onboard control device 14, thestorage unit 17 is implemented by a memory. In the onboard controldevice 14, the hardware configuration of the obtaining unit 15 and thecontrol unit 16 is identical to that of the obtaining unit 15 and thecontrol unit 16 according to the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the onboardcontrol device 14 in the train 10 holds correction permissioninformation therein, obtains wayside-coil identification informationfrom the wayside coil 20, and corrects or does not correct trainlocation information in accordance with the details of the correctionpermission information associated with the wayside-coil identificationinformation. With this configuration, the wireless train control system100 can provide a setting per wayside coil 20 such that whethercorrection to the train location information is permissible isdetermined in accordance with the type of the train 10.

Third Embodiment

In the first embodiment, the train 10 obtains correction permissioninformation from the wayside coil 20. In the second embodiment, thetrain 10 holds correction permission information therein. In a thirdembodiment, a description is made as to a case in which the train 10obtains correction permission information from the ground control device50.

In the third embodiment, the configuration of the wireless train controlsystem 100 is identical to that of the wireless train control system 100according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. Theconfiguration of the wayside coil 20 is also identical to that of thewayside coil 20 according to the second embodiment. The configuration ofthe train 10 is also identical to that of the train 10 according to thefirst embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3. However, in the thirdembodiment, the train 10 obtains, from the ground control device 50,correction permission information in a form of correspondenceinformation in which the correction permission information is associatedwith wayside-coil identification information.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of theground control device 50 according to the third embodiment. The groundcontrol device 50 includes a storage unit 51 and a control unit 52. Thestorage unit 51 stores therein correspondence information in whichwayside-coil identification information capable of identifying thewayside coil 20 is associated with correction permission information.The correspondence information has the same details as those of thecorrespondence information stored in the storage unit 17 in the onboardcontrol device 14 according to the second embodiment. Similarly to thesecond embodiment, in a case where the wayside-coil location informationis transmitted from the wayside coil 20 to the train 10, thewayside-coil location information may be deleted from the correspondenceinformation illustrated in FIG. 11. The onboard control device 14 mayobtain the wayside-coil location information along with the wayside-coilidentification information from the wayside coil 20, or include thewayside-coil location information in the correspondence informationobtained from the ground control device 50.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for describing the operations of thetrain 10 and the ground control device 50 according to the thirdembodiment. In the third embodiment, the control unit 16 in the onboardcontrol device 14 transmits train location information to the groundsystem 30 through the communication unit 13.

When the control unit 52 in the ground control device 50 obtains trainlocation information from the train 10 through the wireless device 40,the control unit 52 determines paths 86 and 87 of the train 10 anddetermines a stop-limit position 88 of the train 10 on the basis of thetrain location information obtained from the train 10. The control unit52 in the ground control device 50 searches for the wayside coils 20 aand 20 b present on the paths 86 and 87 extending from the rear-partlocation of the train 10 to the stop-limit position 88. The control unit52 in the ground control device 50 searches correspondence informationstored in the storage unit 51 on the basis of wayside-coilidentification information on the wayside coils 20 a and 20 b. Forexample, when the wayside-coil identification information on the waysidecoil 20 a is “A4”, the control unit 52 obtains correspondenceinformation about the wayside-coil identification information “A4”. Inthe example in FIG. 11, the control unit 52 obtains correspondenceinformation that the wayside-coil identification information is “A4”,correction to the front-part location is permissible, and correction tothe rear-part location is permissible. For another example, when thewayside-coil identification information on the wayside coil 20 b is“A5”, the control unit 52 obtains correspondence information about thewayside-coil identification information “A5”. In the example in FIG. 11,the control unit 52 obtains correspondence information that thewayside-coil identification information is “A5”, correction to thefront-part location is not permissible, but correction to the rear-partlocation is permissible. The control unit 52 in the ground controldevice 50 executes control to transmit, to the train 10, controlinformation including the obtained correspondence information.

The control unit 16 in the train 10 executes control to correct thelocation of the train 10 on the basis of the correspondence informationincluded in the control information obtained from the ground controldevice 50. At the time when the train 10 passes through the wayside coil20 a, the control unit 16 in the train 10 resets, that is, eliminatesthe front-part allowance length 91, and resets, that is, eliminates therear-part allowance length 92 on the basis of the correspondenceinformation obtained from the ground control device 50.

The operation of the onboard control device 14 installed in the train 10is described below with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 16 is a flowchartillustrating the operation of the onboard control device 14 according tothe third embodiment. In the onboard control device 14, the control unit16 calculates a train location of the train 10 on the basis of an outputsignal from the tachometer generator 12 (Step S1). The control unit 16determines whether the obtaining unit 15 has obtained wayside-coilidentification information from the wayside coil 20 through the onboardpickup coil 11 (Step S41). When the obtaining unit 15 has obtainedwayside-coil identification information from the wayside coil 20 throughthe onboard pickup coil 11 (YES at Step S41), the control unit 16determines whether the obtaining unit 15 has obtained, from the groundcontrol device 50, correspondence information in which the wayside-coilidentification information is associated with correction permissioninformation (Step S42). When the obtaining unit 15 has obtainedcorrespondence information from the ground control device 50 (YES atStep S42), the control unit 16 searches the correspondence informationby using the wayside-coil identification information obtained from thewayside coil 20, and checks whether first information indicates thatcorrection is permissible, the first information being included in thecorrection permission information associated with the wayside-coilidentification information obtained from the wayside coil 20 (Step S3).The operations at Steps S3 to S7 are the same as the operations in thefirst embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6. However, when the determinationat Step S41 is NO, or when the determination at Step S42 is NO, or whenthe determination at Step S5 is NO, or after Step S6, the control unit16 transmits train location information on the train 10 to the groundsystem 30 through the communication unit 13 (Step S7).

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the ground controldevice 50 according to the third embodiment. The control unit 52 checkswhether the ground control device 50 has obtained train locationinformation from the train 10 (Step S51). When the ground control device50 does not obtain train location information from the train 10 (NO atStep S51), the control unit 52 is on standby until the ground controldevice 50 obtains train location information. When the ground controldevice 50 has obtained train location information from the train 10 (YESat Step S51), the control unit 52 determines the paths 86 and 87 of thetrain 10 (Step S52) and determines the stop-limit position 88 of thetrain 10 (Step S53) on the basis of the train location information. Thecontrol unit 52 searches for the wayside coil 20 present on the pathextending from the rear-part location of the train 10 to the stop-limitposition 88 (Step S54). The control unit 52 generates controlinformation including the result of the search for the wayside coil 20,and transmits the control information to the train 10 through thewireless device 40 (Step S55). Specifically, the control unit 52executes control to transmit, to the train 10, correspondenceinformation associated with the wayside coil 20 detected as aconsequence of the search. The control unit 52 in the ground controldevice 50 repeats the operations described above.

The operation of the control unit 52 to search for the wayside coil 20at Step S54 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 17 is described belowin detail. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating the operation by whichthe control unit 52 in the ground control device 50 according to thethird embodiment searches for the wayside coil 20. The control unit 52in the ground control device 50 searches for the wayside coil 20 presenton the paths 86 and 87 extending from the rear-part location of thetrain 10 to the stop-limit position 88 (Step S61). When the control unit52 has detected the wayside coil 20 (YES at Step S62), the control unit52 obtains, from the storage unit 51, correspondence information aboutwayside-coil identification information on the detected wayside coil 20,and sets the obtained correspondence information in control informationas a result of the retrieval (Step S63). When the control unit 52 cannotdetect the wayside coil 20 (NO at Step S62), the control unit 52 sets“no correction permission information” as a result of the retrieval inthe control information (Step S64).

The train 10 may detect the wayside coil 20, and transmits, to theground control device 50, wayside-coil identification informationobtained from the wayside coil 20. In this case, in the ground controldevice 50, the control unit 52 obtains, from the storage unit 51,correspondence information about the wayside-coil identificationinformation obtained from the train 10, generates control informationincluding the obtained correspondence information, and transmits thegenerated control information to the train 10 through the wirelessdevice 40. That is, when the control unit 52 obtains wayside-coilidentification information from the train 10, the control unit 52executes control to transmit, to the train 10, the correspondenceinformation including correction permission information associated withthe obtained wayside-coil identification information. In the groundcontrol device 50, in a case where the control unit 52 obtains a singlepiece of wayside-coil identification information from the train 10, thecontrol unit 52 may obtain correction permission information about theobtained wayside-coil identification information from correspondenceinformation stored in the storage unit 51, generate control informationincluding the obtained correction permission information, and transmitthe generated control information to the train 10 through the wirelessdevice 40.

The ground control device 50 may have correspondence information storedin the storage unit 51 in accordance with the type of the train 10. Whenthe control unit 52 in the ground control device 50 obtains trainlocation information from the train 10, the control unit 52 also obtainstrain identification information capable of identifying the type of thetrain 10. The control unit 52 in the ground control device 50 cangenerate control information having a setting per wayside coil 20 suchthat whether correction to the train location information is permissibleis determined in accordance with the type of the train 10, and cantransmit the generated control information.

In the hardware configuration of the ground control device 50, thestorage unit 51 is implemented by a memory. The control unit 52 isimplemented by a processing circuitry. The processing circuitry includedin the ground control device 50 is of an identical configuration to theprocessing circuitry included in the onboard control device 14 accordingto the first embodiment.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the wirelesstrain control system 100, the ground control device 50 holds correctionpermission information therein. The train 10 can obtain, from the groundcontrol device 50, correction permission information associated with thewayside coil 20 present on the path. In the wireless train controlsystem 100, the ground control device 50 is the only device that holdscorrespondence information therein. In modifying the correctionpermission information for each wayside coil 20, therefore, personnel ofa railway operating company in charge only need to modify the datastored in the storage unit 51 in the ground control device 50. This canhelp the personnel do work more efficiently.

The configurations described in the above embodiments are only examplesof the content of the present invention. The configurations can becombined with other well-known techniques, and part of each of theconfigurations can be omitted or modified without departing from thescope of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

10, 10 a, 10 b train, 11 onboard pickup coil, 12 rate generator, 13, 22communication unit, 14 onboard control device, 15 obtaining unit, 16, 52control unit, 17, 21, 51 storage unit, 20, 20 a, 20 b wayside coil, 30ground system, 40 wireless device, 50 ground control device, 60electronic interlocking device, 71, 72 signal, 81 to 85 track circuit,86, 87 path, 88 stop-limit position, 91, 91 a, 91 b front-part allowancelength, 92, 92 a, 92 b rear-part allowance length, 100 wireless traincontrol system.

1. An onboard control device to be installed along with an onboardpickup coil in a train, the onboard control device comprising: obtainingcircuitry to obtain wayside coil information from a wayside coil throughthe onboard pickup coil, the wayside coil information being capable ofidentifying a location of the wayside coil; and control circuitry tocorrect train location information, or not to correct the train locationinformation on a basis of correction permission information, the trainlocation information indicating a location of the train, the correctionpermission information being associated with the wayside coil, thecorrection permission information including information that indicateswhether correction to the train location information is permissible,wherein when the information included in the correction permissioninformation indicates that the correction is permissible, the controlcircuitry corrects the train location information by using the waysidecoil information at a time when the onboard pickup coil has passedthrough the wayside coil, and when the information included in thecorrection permission information indicates that the correction is notpermissible, the control circuitry does not correct the train locationinformation at a time when the onboard pickup coil has passed throughthe wayside coil.
 2. The onboard control device according to claim 1,wherein the obtaining circuitry obtains wayside-coil locationinformation and the correction permission information from the waysidecoil through the onboard pickup coil, the wayside-coil locationinformation being the wayside coil information and indicating a locationwhere the wayside coil is installed, and the control circuitry correctsa front-part location of the train by using the wayside-coil locationinformation when first information indicating whether correction to afront-part location of the train is permissible indicates that thecorrection is permissible, the first information being included in thecorrection permission information, and the control circuitry does notcorrect a front-part location of the train when the first informationindicates that the correction is not permissible.
 3. The onboard controldevice according to claim 1, comprising storage circuitry to storetherein correspondence information in which wayside-coil identificationinformation is associated with the correction permission information,the wayside-coil identification information being capable of identifyingthe wayside coil, wherein the obtaining circuitry obtains, from thewayside coil through the onboard pickup coil, the wayside-coilidentification information that is the wayside coil information, thecontrol circuitry searches the correspondence information by using thewayside-coil identification information obtained from the wayside coil,and when first information indicating whether correction to a front-partlocation of the train is permissible indicates that the correction ispermissible, the control circuitry corrects a front-part location of thetrain on a basis of wayside-coil location information, the firstinformation being included in the correction permission information, thewayside-coil location information indicating a location where thewayside coil is installed, and when the first information indicates thatthe correction is not permissible, the control circuitry does notcorrect a front-part location of the train, and the wayside-coillocation information is obtained along with the wayside-coilidentification information from the wayside coil, or is included in thecorrespondence information.
 4. The onboard control device according toclaim 1, wherein the obtaining circuitry obtains, from the wayside coilthrough the onboard pickup coil, wayside-coil identification informationthat is the wayside coil information, the wayside-coil identificationinformation being capable of identifying the wayside coil, the controlcircuitry obtains, from a ground control device, correspondenceinformation in which the wayside-coil identification information isassociated with the correction permission information, and searches thecorrespondence information by using the wayside-coil identificationinformation obtained from the wayside coil, and when first informationindicating whether correction to a front-part location of the train ispermissible indicates that the correction is permissible, the controlcircuitry corrects a front-part location of the train on a basis ofwayside-coil location information, the first information being includedin the correction permission information, the wayside-coil locationinformation indicating a location where the wayside coil is installed,and when the first information indicates that the correction is notpermissible, the control circuitry does not correct a front-partlocation of the train, and the wayside-coil location information isobtained along with the wayside-coil identification information from thewayside coil, or is included in the correspondence information.
 5. Theonboard control device according to claim 2, wherein when secondinformation indicating whether correction to a rear-part location of thetrain is permissible indicates that the correction is permissible, thecontrol circuitry corrects a rear-part location of the train on a basisof the wayside-coil location information, the second information beingincluded in the correction permission information, and when the secondinformation indicates that the correction is not permissible, thecontrol circuitry does not correct a rear-part location of the train. 6.A wayside coil to communicate with an onboard pickup coil at a time whena train having the onboard pickup coil installed therein passes throughthe wayside coil, the wayside coil comprising: storage circuitry tostore therein wayside-coil location information and correctionpermission information, the wayside-coil location information indicatinga location where the wayside coil is installed, the correctionpermission information including information that indicates whethercorrection to train location information is permissible for the train,the train location information indicating a location of the train in thetrain; and communication circuitry to transmit, to the train, thecorrection permission information and the wayside-coil locationinformation that is wayside coil information.
 7. The wayside coilaccording to claim 6, wherein the correction permission informationincludes first information indicating whether correction to a front-partlocation of the train is permissible.
 8. The wayside coil according toclaim 6, wherein the correction permission information includes firstinformation indicating whether correction to a front-part location ofthe train is permissible, and second information indicating whethercorrection to a rear-part location of the train is permissible.
 9. Aground control device to control an operation of a train thatcommunicates with a wayside coil through an onboard pickup coil, theground control device comprising: storage circuitry to store thereincorrespondence information in which wayside-coil identificationinformation is associated with correction permission information, thewayside-coil identification information being capable of identifying thewayside coil, the correction permission information includinginformation that indicates whether correction to train locationinformation is permissible for the train, the train location informationindicating a location of the train; and control circuitry to executecontrol to transmit the correspondence information to the train.
 10. Theground control device according to claim 9, wherein the correctionpermission information includes first information indicating whethercorrection to a front-part location of the train is permissible.
 11. Theground control device according to claim 9, wherein the correctionpermission information includes first information indicating whethercorrection to a front-part location of the train is permissible, andsecond information indicating whether correction to a rear-part locationof the train is permissible.
 12. The ground control device according toclaim 9, wherein when the control circuitry obtains, from the train,train location information indicating a location of the train, thecontrol circuitry executes control to determine a path and a stop-limitposition of the train on a basis of the train location information,search for a wayside coil present on a path extending from a rear-partlocation of the train to the stop-limit position, and transmit, to thetrain, correspondence information associated with a wayside coildetected as a consequence of search.
 13. The ground control deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein when the control circuitry obtains thewayside-coil identification information from the train, the controlcircuitry executes control to transmit correspondence information to thetrain, the correspondence information including correction permissioninformation associated with the obtained wayside-coil identificationinformation.
 14. A wireless train control system comprising: an onboardcontrol device to be installed along with an onboard pickup coil in atrain; and the wayside coil according to claim 6, wherein the onboardcontrol device comprises: obtaining circuitry to obtain wayside coilinformation from the wayside coil through the onboard pickup coil, thewayside coil information being capable of identifying a location of thewayside coil; and control circuitry to correct train locationinformation, or not to correct the train location information on a basisof correction permission information, the train location informationindicating a location of the train, the correction permissioninformation being associated with the wayside coil, the correctionpermission information including information that indicates whethercorrection to the train location information is permissible, whereinwhen the information included in the correction permission informationindicates that the correction is permissible, the control circuitrycorrects the train location information by using the wayside coilinformation at a time when the onboard pickup coil has passed throughthe wayside coil, and when the information included in the correctionpermission information indicates that the correction is not permissible,the control circuitry does not correct the train location information ata time when the onboard pickup coil has passed through the wayside coil.15. A wireless train control system comprising: an onboard controldevice to be installed along with an onboard pickup coil in a train; andthe ground control device according to claim 9, wherein the onboardcontrol device comprises: obtaining circuitry to obtain wayside coilinformation from a wayside coil through the onboard pickup coil, thewayside coil information being capable of identifying a location of thewayside coil; and control circuitry to correct train locationinformation, or not to correct the train location information on a basisof correction permission information, the train location informationindicating a location of the train, the correction permissioninformation being associated with the wayside coil, the correctionpermission information including information that indicates whethercorrection to the train location information is permissible, whereinwhen the information included in the correction permission informationindicates that the correction is permissible, the control circuitrycorrects the train location information by using the wayside coilinformation at a time when the onboard pickup coil has passed throughthe wayside coil, and when the information included in the correctionpermission information indicates that the correction is not permissible,the control circuitry does not correct the train location information ata time when the onboard pickup coil has passed through the wayside coil.16.-20. (canceled)
 21. The onboard control device according to claim 3,wherein when second information indicating whether correction to arear-part location of the train is permissible indicates that thecorrection is permissible, the control circuitry corrects a rear-partlocation of the train on a basis of the wayside-coil locationinformation, the second information being included in the correctionpermission information, and when the second information indicates thatthe correction is not permissible, the control circuitry does notcorrect a rear-part location of the train.
 22. The onboard controldevice according to claim 4, wherein when second information indicatingwhether correction to a rear-part location of the train is permissibleindicates that the correction is permissible, the control circuitrycorrects a rear-part location of the train on a basis of thewayside-coil location information, the second information being includedin the correction permission information, and when the secondinformation indicates that the correction is not permissible, thecontrol circuitry does not correct a rear-part location of the train.